First Facts by Rebecca Johnson

First Facts by Rebecca Johnson Use these activity sheets to teach your science content in combination with literacy. There are two photocopiable worksheets to support each of the eight books in the series. Each book guides students to independently develop early scientific research patterns by: comparing and contrasting using glossaries and indexes deciphering facts and information from tables and graphs making inferences about what they have read. The books gradually release information in order to build a solid understanding of how the six main groups of animals are classified. The activity sheets reinforce this understanding through presenting and repeating the facts in different formats. Linked to the Australian Curriculum science outcomes listed below, these books and their accompanying worksheets are valuable resources across primary schools, and cater to students with different needs and abilities. $7.95 RRP Foundation Living things have basic needs, including food and water. ACSSU002 Year 1 Living things have a variety of external features. ACSSU017 Year 2 Living things grow, change and have offspring similar to themselves. People use science in their daily lives, including when caring for their environment and living things. ACSSU030 ACSHE035 Year 3 Year 4 Living things can be grouped on the basis of observable features and can be distinguished from non-living things. Science involves making predictions and describing patterns and relationships. Living things have life cycles. Living things depend on each other and the environment to survive. ACSSU044 ACSHE050 ACSSU072 ACSSU073 Year 5 Living things have structural features and adaptations that help them to survive in their environment. ACSSU043 There are 8 books in the First Facts series. Their titles, reading levels and ISBNs are listed below: Title Isbn Reading Level Mammals 9781925425833 15 16 Birds 9781925425840 13 14 Reptiles 9781925425857 13 14 Fish 9781925425864 15 16 Amphibians 9781925425871 17 Insects 9781925425888 18 Kangaroos 9781925425895 15 16 Koalas 9781925425901 17

ACTIVITY SHEET 1 First Facts Amphibians 1 Draw and label the four groups of amphibians. 2 Look at the picture of the extinct gastric-brooding frog on page 12 of Amphibians. Why do you think it became extinct? 3 Life cycle of a frog. Use 4 different colours to match the stage to the word and the picture. The first one is done for you. 1 3 5 2 4 tadpoles froglet eggs adult back legs emerge First Facts Amphibians 2017 Pascal Press

ACTIVITY SHEET 2 First Facts Amphibians 4 Colour the characteristics of amphibians. cold blooded look after their young vertebrates have scales have hair or fur lay eggs spend part of their lives in water and on land have moist skin no legs 5 Use the Amphibians book to help you answer the questions. a. How long can caecilians grow? b. What do adult axolotls have that other adult amphibians do not? c. Is a toad s tongue sticky? d. Do adult frogs have tails? e. How many species of amphibians are there in the world? f. Do all frogs protect their eggs? g. What is the change of shape amphibians go through called? h. What can amphibians do through their skin? 6 Label the parts of a frog. bladder stomach lung eye brain tongue heart liver intestine First Facts Amphibians 2017 Pascal Press

ACTIVITY SHEET 1 First Facts Birds 1 Use the Birds book to help you complete the sentences. a. Birds lay. b. Not all birds can. c. Birds are blooded. d. Birds use their to fly. e. Birds bodies are covered in. f. Birds have bones. 2 Find a picture of a bird in the Birds book. Complete the statement. Birds have two, and. 3 Look at the thermometers. Tick the one which shows a bird s body temperature? C C C 4 Find the 10 eggs hidden in the picture. Some birds lay their eggs in nests, and some lay them on the ground. Colour them. First Facts Birds 2017 Pascal Press

ACTIVITY SHEET 2 First Facts Birds 5 Label the diagram of a bird s skeleton. feet wing ribs backbone beak legs 6 Circle True or False. a. Birds breathe through their mouth. True False b. Birds are vertebrates. True False c. Birds are warm blooded. True False d. The shape of a bird s beak can tell you something about what it eats. True False e. Not all birds have wings. True False f. There are more bird species than mammals. True False g. Water birds often have webbed feet. True False 7 Start here Help the mother bird feed her chicks. Shade the boxes that have bird features. Each box you shade must touch another. lay eggs cold blooded live babies hair 4 legs feathers gills 6 legs hollow bones scales swims 3 body parts fur vertebrate wings warm blooded First Facts Birds 2017 Pascal Press

ACTIVITY SHEET 1 First Facts Fish 1 Colour the scales that have statements that are true about fish. have a swim bladder warm blooded lay eggs have hair or fur have fins have gills vertebrates have lungs cold blooded most have scales have a lateral line 2 Circle the fish. First Facts Fish 2017 Pascal Press

ACTIVITY SHEET 2 First Facts Fish 3 Label the fins of the fish. 4 Write True or False. a. All fish have a lateral line. b. Some species of fish can come onto land. c. All fish lay eggs. d. Baby fish are called fry. e. Male seahorses incubate the eggs. f. All fish look after their young. g. Fish are the largest group of animals in the world. h. Fish are cold blooded. 5 Help the mudskipper back to the water by tracing over the correct line. First Facts Fish 2017 Pascal Press

ACTIVITY SHEET 1 First Facts Insects 1 Find and colour the insects. 2 Use the Insects book to help you answer the questions. a. How many body parts does an insect have? b. What do you call animal with no backbone? c. What is the special name given to an insect s eye? d. Why do you think insects have antennae? e. What do almost all insects lay? f. What is the name for the openings insects breathe through? g. What are the three body parts of an insect called? h. What do we call the change of shape insects go through? i. How many species of insects are there in the world? j. What is the skeleton of an insect called? First Facts Insects 2017 Pascal Press

ACTIVITY SHEET 2 First Facts Insects 3 Do these insects go through complete or incomplete metamorphosis? Use the Insects book to help you. Complete metamorphosis Incomplete metamorphosis cricket cockroach moth fly ant bee beetle grasshopper dragonfly butterfly stick insect 4 Cut and paste the pictures to complete the two life cycles. ant silk moth First Facts Insects 2017 Pascal Press! larva pupa silkworm egg cocoon egg

ACTIVITY SHEET 1 First Facts Kangaroos 1 Use the information on page 15 in the Kangaroo book about male and female red kangaroos. Shade the facts about males in yellow and females in green. Colour the facts that are common to both in blue. Called does Have strong tails Stay with the mob as adults Have big ears Called bucks Are bigger and stronger Have a pouch Are more red in colour Hop on back legs Leave the mob when adults Have a backbone Are more grey in colour 2 How does a joey get into its mother s pouch? Why do you think kangaroos have a pouch? How old is a joey when it leaves its mother s pouch? What are the three types of kangaroos? 3 What are 6 other types of marsupials? 4 Can you label the parts of 5 this kangaroo? Use the glossary to match the word to its meaning a. herbivore Animal that hunts and kills other animals to eat b. native Parts of a female animal that give milk c. pouch Found naturally in a particular area d. predator A body that can make its own warmth e. teats A pocket of skin on the belly of a marsupial f. warm Given food other than blooded mother s milk Strong tail Large ears Large feet Joey Pouch Backbone g. weaned Plant eater 9781925425895 First Facts Kangaroos 2017 Pascal Press

ACTIVITY SHEET 2 First Facts Kangaroos 7 Circle True or False. a. Wallabies and wallaroos are macropods, but not kangaroos True False b. Kangaroos only eat grass True False c. Kangaroos sleep more than people True False d. Kangaroos are diurnal True False e. Kangaroos live in groups called mobs True False f. A kangaroo s tail is for whacking predators True False g. A red kangaroo can jump over 3 meters high True False h. Kangaroos can swim True False i. Joeys stop drinking milk when they leave the pouch True False 6 Can you complete the kangaroo dot to dot? 9781925425895 First Facts Kangaroos 2017 Pascal Press

ACTIVITY SHEET 1 First Facts Koalas 1 2 Circle the features of mammals. have scales have gills warm blooded have 4 legs have feathers moist skin feed young on milk cold blooded have lungs vertebrates have hair or fur compound eyes What feature do marsupials have that other mammals don t? 3 Use the Koala book to help you shade the pouches that belong to marsupials: dingo bandicoot glider quoll kangaroo possum wombat Tasmanian devil 4 Why does a koala s pouch face backwards? 5 Can you shade this number 6 line showing how big a baby koala is when it is born? Colour the object that would weigh about the same as a newborn koala red. A jelly bean: 1 gram A paperclip: 0.5 grams A pet mouse: 400 grams A chicken egg: 60 grams 7 Look at the pictures on page 9 in the Koalas book to fill in this table: Ways that Northern and Southern koalas are the same Ways that Northern and Southern koalas are different 9781925425901 First Facts Koalas 2017 Pascal Press

ACTIVITY SHEET 2 First Facts Koalas 8 Circle True or False. a. Koalas eat dirt sometimes. True False b. Koalas eat any kind of leaves True False c. Koalas never eat the bark of the trees True False d. Koalas don t have to drink a lot. True False e. Koalas eat enough gum leaves a day to fill a shopping trolley. True False f. Koalas are nocturnal, but they sleep for some of the night too. True False g. Koalas like to live in large groups. True False 9 Fill in this Venn diagram with the letter for each fact to show what is different and what is the same about male and female koalas. a. Has sticky brown patch on chest males both females b. Waterproof fur c. Has a pouch d. Can leap 2 m e. Thick fur f. Fluffy ears g. Called a buck h. Called a doe 10 Can you complete the maze to help the koala get to a gum tree? 9781925425901 First Facts Koalas 2017 Pascal Press

ACTIVITY SHEET 1 First Facts Mammals 1 Circle the features of mammals. have scales have gills warm blooded have 4 legs have feathers moist skin feed young on milk cold blooded have lungs vertebrates have hair or fur compound eyes 2 Circle the animal that is NOT a mammal. 3 Help the kangaroo find her joey. 4 Colour the backbone of these vertebrates. First Facts Mammals 2017 Pascal Press

ACTIVITY SHEET 2 First Facts Mammals 5 Look at each fur pattern. Can you guess the mammal? 6 Colour the land mammals green. Colour the marine mammals blue. Colour the animals that are NOT mammals red. 7 Circle True or False. a. b. c. d. e. f. 8 There are many types of monotremes. Baby marine mammals do not drink milk. Mammals breathe air into their lungs. A mammal s body temperature is usually below 36 C. There are over 5000 species of mammals in the world. There are three groups of mammals. True True True True True True False False False False False False Draw a line to complete the statements. a. Marsupials b. Monotremes c. Placental mammals lay eggs. babies grow inside the mother. have a pouch. First Facts Mammals 2017 Pascal Press

ACTIVITY SHEET 1 First Facts Reptiles 1 Circle True or False. a. All reptiles have scales. True False b. Reptiles breathe through gills. True False c. All reptiles lay eggs. True False d. Reptiles are cold blooded. True False e. Reptiles have lungs. True False f. All reptiles have a backbone. True False 2 Use the Reptiles book to help you decide if the reptiles below are carnivores, herbivores or omnivores. Fill in the chart. Carnivores Herbivores Omnivores green turtle bearded dragon crocodile blue-tongued lizard snake chameleon aquatic turtle iguana giant tortoise 3 Read the news report. Circle the reptile the boy in the news report might have seen. Use page 20 to help you. saltwater crocodile freshwater crocodile alligator The Daily NEWS A 10-year-old boy is in a serious but stable condition after being bitten by a reptile. He was walking his dog beside the Boyne River late yesterday afternoon when he almost stepped on the animal, believing it to be a log. When I looked down I thought it was just a log, he said. Then, even though its mouth and eyes were closed, I saw its teeth. First Facts Reptiles 2017 Pascal Press

ACTIVITY SHEET 2 First Facts Reptiles 4 Circle the names of reptiles in the wordfind. There are six reptiles to find. V R E X E D M M G R W O K K C O N O X N Z P C Z V E S W S W D K U T N R I M O M S J B R S D W N U A H L V V Q I H X E D I I K E F G X K G H O Y R R L M F S P I D I Z W Q T A X T N E O S B I V X L L M R T E G O L I Z A R D D Y L N O L M O O E L I D O C O R C A T C Q O I P U H X Y V J L N R Z I I W K S G K G P R F W U S Q Q Z N D Q N M W X J Q T M Y O C Y B B H S A B P S T H Y V F T F C H D M F K M F N P C L Z E W X P K X M X E Q B D A I C Q Q F R SNAKE TORTOISE ALLIGATOR LIZARD CROCODILE TURTLE 5 Cut and paste the features of a legless lizard and a snake. Legless lizard Snake First Facts Reptiles 2017 Pascal Press! can be venomous pointy nose no scaly flaps under body non-venomous rounded nose forked tongue scaly flaps under body tongue not forked